What is it about?
The chapter deals with the politics of the making of heritage. It revolves around the debates and contestations that emerge with the idea of uplifting the religious ritual into a UNESCO registered cultural heritage. it deals with the power dynamics that informs the decision to sieve out certain practices as relevant and demonstrates how 'experts' working for the state decide without necessarily taking into account the meaning and experiences of those who view the Irreecha ritual as part of their spiritual life.
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Why is it important?
It is important as a contribution that tries to call attention to what constitutes the meaning of heritage and who gets to decide. it also calls attention to the fact that non of the processes around heritage making and management can be taken for granted as they are power imbued processes which marginalise certain perspectives while privileging others.
Perspectives
Irreecha has now become a symbolic annual event through which not only spiritual lives are made sense of but national identities are formed and affirmed. This already makes the chapter an interesting and timely piece.
Debele Serawit
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This page is a summary of: Contested Heritage: The "Cul-Touristic" Turn in the Celebration of Irreecha Ritual in Ethiopia, May 2017, AFRICAN SUN MeDIA,
DOI: 10.18820/9781928314288/02.
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